XD30 – Day 25 – Irregardless

I passed my third certification exam on the first try! I am very proud of myself especially after the morning that I had. I didn’t know that Metro changed its service hours so now on Sundays, it opened at 8am instead of 7am. I walked from home to McPherson, back to Farragut West (where some Asian man asked me if I had $5 in hashish at Farragut Square. Geesh! Drug dealers were NOW wearing hot pink t-shirts?! Who knew!). I then crossed the Square back to Farragut North only to learn the K Street entrance still had the gate up but the L street entrance was open (You had only ONE job!). Once I saw the 16-minute wait, I climbed the escalator back to McPherson where I waited another 19 minutes to roll to Reston. I arrived at the testing center at 9:30am. The instructor said that he just got started teaching. Oh vey!

This was NOT my first weird certification experience. I passed my PMP exam the day of the earthquake in 2011. The scrum test system crashed the day of the test from too many users and the Lyft driver missed the Vienna metro exit yet I still passed the Certified Scrum Master exam. I refused to be rattled over such nonsense. Not even that irritating broad whose favorite pastime was sitting in on certification workshop but not taking the exams then complaining about how backed up she felt. Girl, bye! She wasn’t the only one who made it a sport of sitting in these certification workshops but not taking the exam immediately afterward. There was another lady and gentleman in my training class who did the same thing. They acted as if it was nothing. I couldn’t waste that type of time sitting there which was why I now had three certifications and they didn’t. That’s what Udemy was for! Udemy out there giving away certification courses on the cheap for $10 (I scored mine for that much!). I bet they spent more of food and liquor than their own self-improvement! That lady was just the most annoying of the bunch.

I was happy that it was nice (not dripping humidity) outside because I walked to blow off steam (and stupidity!). It took me 30 minutes to register for the exam because it was onsite registration and another person who openly admitted that this was his second time sitting in on a computer language course and he didn’t think that he would pass (Are you serious?! You held my registration up for that?!). Anyway, I completed mine, went to the testing area, grabbed my headphones, prayed and got to work. I passed my certification exam on the first exam. I received my printout and certificate of completion and rolled back home happy knowing that I got what I came for. 

Black Friday Observations

Today on Black Friday I have bought five Ann Taylor cable-knit sweaters for $106 and an Acer computer for $450 (it includes anti-viral software subscription!). I am so thankful that I have the money to buy another computer because now I can schedule the Monday Comcast appointment tomorrow. Right now I am tired because Black Friday has consumed an abundance of my energy.

Earlier this morning I had to walk to Ann Taylor Loft twice because when I originally arrived at 9:05am, the store was closed forcing me to return home and call the store to verify. As soon as the saleswoman said that the DuPont location was open, albeit late, I returned to the store. That took a lot out of me. After watching Matlock I went to Farragut North and boarded the red line for Tenleytown metro. After climbing those escalators, I arrived at Best Buy where the small netbook screen saddened me. Immediately I looked for a laptop and after talking with two employees I bought the $349 Acer with anti-viral protection for another $79.99. Since the software was not installed I had to sit in the Geek Squad lounge for 15 minutes. Though stores were usually packed on Black Friday, this was not the case at Best Buy and it was not because I arrived at 11:15am. The recession took a very huge bit out of Christmas spending. Though many of my friends comment that Wal-Mart and JC Penney are crowded, when you are scared about keeping your job, a new computer is not high on your list! This situation is another realization that I am lucky to have a high-paying job to allow me to replace my computer. Later, I walked to Chipotle where I ordered the usual chicken burrito. I used cash and it was only returning home when I realized that the company mailed me two free burrito coupons. Rats! Speaking of returning home, this man who resided in my apartment was moving real fast through traffic. If I did not have my computer I would had secretly raced him home.